OpenLogic Sees 730 Percent Jump in Open-Source Scans

OpenLogic said it saw a 730 percent increase in the number of open-source scans in Q1 2012 as opposed to Q1 2011.

The use of open-source software is clearly on the rise in the enterprise, as evidenced by the momentum of a key player offering a critical service for enterprise adoption of open source: open-source scanning.

Open-source scanning tools have become increasingly important for the enterprise, as the use of open source continues to grow. Gartner reports that more than half of enterprises have already adopted open-source software. Scanning tools are essential for helping organizations identify which open-source components they are using and how to comply with open-source license obligations in order to avoid legal disputes.

OpenLogic offers open-source scanning products and services engagements that help enterprises safely manage and leverage open-source software. OpenLogic helps customers understand how much open source it uses, where specific open-source packages are used, and what needs to be done to ensure compliance with open-source licenses.

OpenLogic has become a trusted open-source partner for hundreds of Fortune 500 enterprise customers, as well as medium-sized businesses, said Steve Grandchamp, CEO of OpenLogic, in a statement. Our enterprise customers applaud our open-source scanners speed and accuracy and appreciate that our product road map is driven largely by customer input. Our agility has enabled us to conduct scans on millions of files quickly and accurately for our growing number of customers.

OpenLogic features software as a service- (SaaS-) based scanning solutions, including two open-source scanning tools and a platform for reporting open-source license obligations. The companys OSS Discovery is a free open-source scanning tool that finds the open-source software included in internal applications and installed on corporate workstations and servers. OSS Discovery does not require access to source code; thus it is useful for taking inventory of open-source software in deployed applications or on servers and desktops.

Meanwhile, OSS Deep Discovery scans source code and binaries to identify open-source code and licenses, even when the open-source code has been modified or copied. OSS Deep Discovery is useful for enterprises that are engaged in merger and acquisition activities or that distribute software or products containing software. OSS Deep Discovery can be licensed for in-house use, or OSS Deep Discovery scans can be performed as a service by OpenLogic.

For its part, the Open Source License Compliance Module is an add-on feature of OpenLogic Exchange (OLEX) that enables enterprises to report on open-source codeand the associated license obligationsincluded in products or applications. The Open Source License Compliance module integrates with OSS Deep Discovery, as well as third-party source-code scanning tools. It provides a list of open-source license obligations based on how the open-source code was used, and it highlights any potential license conflicts.

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.